very soon, i'll be installing my bc's, but instead of starting from scratch on trying to find the right settings for me, i thought i'd get some input from those who've already done the leg work and fine tune from there. (that and i don't know a damn thing about suspension! )

i'm looking to drop my car 20-30cm's (.75-1.25" appx), am not tracking it, and need it set up mainly for some frisky street driving from time to time. comfort is secondary to performance which comes behind me not bottoming out on a few fun bumpy roads.

settings and advice are appreciated.

 

Height is not as important as the corner weighing of the car after they are installed.

And even drop all around will throw off the weight distribution, keep that in mind.

There is no perfect ride height, especially if you are not tracking the car.

If you dont care about weight tranfer and distribution pick a height you are covertable with or wheel gap.
Get one side in the front where you want it (measure it ground to fender) and set the other side the same.

Then do the same for the back.

Do you know the spring rates of the springs? Are your shocks single or double adjustable, or are they self adjusting?

These things are something you should know before setting height. They will be helpful in you deciding on front and rear height.

 

What is this corner weighing I keep hearing about and where do I get it checked/adjusted?

 

springs are 10kg/mm. as far as adjustability, i'm not familiar with the terms. i have access to adjust the damper, spring rate, and ride height.

corner weighting is basically where you try to get a perfect weight distribution on all 4 tires with you in the car and a 1/2 tank of gas.

 

Here is an article I wrote on corner weighing and some other things.

Scroll down to E1 there are some other basics in there that might help,


http://www.automotivetech.org/forum/showth...orner+weighting

If you want the first part you can get it here.
http://www.hondalife.com/modules.php?name=...rticle&artid=20

As far as spring rates, your rates are 559lbs front and back, you sure your rears are not higher?

Best thing to do is find a shop that will corner weight the car, get your high appropriate on the scales. And have a performance alignment that will fit your driving style.

This is the best thing you can do.

If you dont want to do it that way, as I mentioned just get your height evened out front and back and get the car in for a stock alignment.

 

sorry to delay my response so long. it's been busy on this end.

dezoris, i loved the links. you got any more like that? that's some good reading.

and i do plan to get it corner weighted and a performance alignment done. the hard part is going to find a shop around here that i'll trust to do it. i haven't been impressed with the people in tucson, esp when it comes to the import market.

no one really has much of a clue for the most part.

 

This is the funniest thing to me, is that the engine shops are a dime a dozen, ricer parts stores, but try to find a shop that does race services, that deal with tuning a suspension, and you will be lucky if you can find one who will do it right 3 hours away.

The thing I would suggest is to call your local tuning shops, and or race shops and call them all until you find one who can refer you to a shop that has wheel scales and will do the weighing, and alignment. You may have to drive a few hours. Talk to the shop on the phone, see if they will work with you. See what they know and make sure they know what you have.

Do they know how to work with eccentric bushings?
Have they worked with coilover shocks?
What cars do they typically work on?
Who is their customer base?

DO NOT take it somewhere you have worries about and those who will not take what you want seriously.

As far as the articles I will be updating those and I started working on part 3.

I wrote those over a year, ago, I have learned a lot since so they need some modification.

Hope it helps.

 

here's a question for you then. what can i ask (and what answer should i expect) that will help me know they know what they're doing and not talking out their ass?

 

Do they know how to work with eccentric bushings?
They should know that the front control arms use them, and that they easily bind if you have mileage. Most places will just turn them and ruin the bushings instead of just telling you they are frozen and to buy new arms.

Have they worked with coilover shocks?
Have they worked with threaded body shocks or sleeves.
What types have they worked with and have they encountered any problems with seizing of the threads and perches. (I would put a thin layer of white lithium grease on the threads if this car is daily driven.)

What cars do they typically work on?
You want to hear that they dont just work on pickups and or cars that they don't have to do specific alignments on.

Who is their customer base?
Do they do a lot of prep on cars people race or is it just standard alignments and tweaks?



In short you want to hear that they will take the time to get the alignment to your specs, take their time and let you know if they do not know how to adjust something or if they cant do it, before they touch anything.

Let them know that up front.
I have had shops ruin my suspension and parts, and the biggest mistake was me not knowing the shop and having an understanding.

Make sure you know exactly how to adjust your parts before they do.

Where is the eccentric bushing bolt? know it.
Have the tools to raise and lower the perches and know how to do it.

Know exactly what you want, and let them know.

 

soooo ... why don't you fly out here to sunny tucson, find someone who has the tools you need, and do this right, bro?